Jake Orf knew how to work his way through the ranks, doing so three times. By 1940 he had already served two separate hitches in the Army, totaling five years and three months. He was working for the Traffic Division of the Kansas City Police Department when Pearl Harbor was attacked. He enlisted the next day and became a Military Policeman. He quickly made Staff Sergeant, and was assigned to the Atlantic Base of the Provost Marshall Section in April, 1943. He was awarded the Legion of Merit after only several months of criminal investigation in French Morocco. The award is given for service rendered in a clearly exceptional manner. The award is very rare and quite prestigious. By August 1943, he was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant. He was then assigned as Officer in charge of Traffic for the 2651st Military Police Company in the European Theatre.

By March, 1944, Lt. Orf was rotated stateside to Camp Algona. He was placed in charge of one of the three prisoner of war compounds there before being given command of the branch camp at Fairmont, Minnesota. In September, 1944, he was rotated from active duty, returning to the Kansas City Police Department.